Tentering clip for gripping material of varying thicknesses



June 2, 1970 K. E- FISH TENTERING CLIP FOR GRIPPING MATERIAL OF VARYINGTHICKNESSES Filed May 14, 1968 4 2 F|G.3 2| 6 I 32 23 3 48 H 24 33 FIG.4

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR KENNETH ELTON FISH BY il /(Mum ATTORNEY K. E.FISH 3,514,823

TENTERING CLIP FOR GRIPPING MATERIAL OF VARYING THICKNESSES June 2, 19702 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 14, 1968 INVENTOR KENNETH ELTON FISH ATTORNEYUnited States Patent 3,514,823 TENTERING CLIP FOR GRIPPING MATERIAL 0FVARYING THICKNESSES Kenneth Elton Fish, Warwick, R.I., assignor to BevisIndustries, Inc., Providence, R.I., a corporation of Florida Filed May14, 1968, Ser. No. 729,092 Int. Cl. D06c 3/10 US. Cl. 26-62 4 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to tentering clipsemploying a controller, and particularly to an improved controller whichis pivoted directly to the swinging gripping jaw; the controller beingguided and provided with a face contour, counterweighted, so as to bedrawn lightly into contact with the material by the movement of theswinging jaw, will pivot into position upon the material in a manner toinsure gripping of the selvedge edge by the jaw regardless of thethickness of the material, to thereby accommodate materials of varyingthicknesses.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a controllerfor a tentering clip jaw which is more sensitive, in relation to theselvedge edge of the material to be clamped to the clamping position ofthe clamping edge of the jaw.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a controllerfor a tentering clip jaw which will allow the clamping edge of the jawto clamp thin material near the front edge of the clamping plate and toclamp thick material near the back edge of the clamping plate with aproper clamping force.

Other objects of the present invention will be pointed out in part andbecome apparent in part in the following specification and claims.

Referring to the drawings in which similar characters of referenceindicate corresponding parts:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tentering clip provided with the newand improved controller.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken along line 22 of FIG.1.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG.2.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the controller, per se.

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view through the tentering clip,similar to FIG. 3, showing the jaw and controller in material receivingposition.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of another form of tentering clipillustrating a modified form of controller construction.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view, partly in section,illustrating the construction of the controller shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the modified form of controllerconstruction.

Referring to the drawings, the tentering clip consists of body having ahorizontally disposed base 11 terminating in a front ledge 12 providedwith an opening or slot 13, a tail section 14, a dependent centralsection 15 extending sidewise in opposite directions to provide a firstupper ear 16 spaced apart and parallel to a first lower ear 17 and anopposite second upper ear 18 spaced apart from a second lower ear 19.Said ears 18 and 19 are parallel, respectively, to said first upper ear16 and first lower ear 17. Two spaced apart arms 20, 21 project upwardlyfrom said base 11 to extend in a forwardly direction to overlie saidhorizontally disposed base 11 and said front ledge 12. A bridge 22unites arms 20, 21 together to provide rigidity to said arms 20, 21.Pivotally mounted between spaced apart arms 20, 21 upon a pintle 23supported on opposite ends in arms 20, 21, is a jaw 24 provided with aprojection 25 and a clamping edge 26. Jaw 24 is loosely hinged to pintle23 between spaced apart arms 20, 21, so as to be normally free to moveautomatically into vertical relation under the action of gravity intoclamping position with a horizontally disposed clamping plate 27fastened to ledge 12. Clamping plate 27 is provided with a slot 28 whichoverlies opening 13.

The foregoing is a description of a tentering clip well known to theart, but modified in the following manner to accommodate the new andimproved controller to be hereinafter described.

A bifurcated bracket 30 having spaced apart fingers 31, 32 is fastenedto or integrally connected to said body and spaced apart arms 20, 21. Apin 33 is supported in spaced apart fingers 31, 32. Two spaced apartlegs 34, 35 are fastened to or integrally connected to jaw 24 and ashaft 36 is supported in legs 34, 35.

A controller, generally indicated at 38, consists of a body member 42having a forked extension comprising an upper prong 48 and a lower prong47. Said body member 42 is also provided with a bearing 41 and amaterial engaging face 39 provided with a thin material engaging area 43and a thick material engaging area 44.

Said bearing geometrically divides said body member 42 into twosections. One section being the forked extension and material on oneside of the vertical plane passing through the axis of the bearing 41.The second section being the material on the opposite side of saidvertical plane and which is provided with the material engaging face 39.It has been found desirable to have both sections of body members 42 ofapproximately equal weight. To that end, upper prong 48 is of anincreased mass of material to form a counterweight to the secondsection.

The contour of the material engaging face may be cam generated toaccommodate material varying in thickness from extremely thin micro-inchplastic film at point 45 to carpet thickness at point 46. Empirically,it has been found that material engaging face 39 may be arcuate and infact be an arc of a circle, struck from the center of bearing 41.

' Controller 38 is hinged to shaft 36 through bearing 41 and is slidablysuspended to pin 33 by means of pron-gs 48, 47 of the forked extension.

In operation, a cam (not shown) will engage projection 25 to pivot jaw24 around pintle 23 into open position.

FIG. 8 is similar to FIG. 3 and illustrates the position of the jaw 24and controller 38 when the jaw 24 is in open or material receivingposition; clamping edge 26 is away from clamping plate 27. The jaw andcontroller are about to initiate movement into jaw closing or materialclamping position, which is the position shown in FIG. 3.

As will be seen from a comparison of FIG. 8 with FIG. 3, the controller38 is hinged to jaw 24 by means of shaft 36 and is slidably mounted topin 33 through prongs 48, 47 which form an elongated slot therebetween.As the jaw pivots from open to closed position, the controller 38 fallsin two directions, namely, on the are having a center on the axis of thepintle 23, and below the are having a center on the axis of shaft 36.The body 42 of the controller rotates in a clockwise direction as theshaft 36 swings in an are around pintle 23 in a counterclockwisedirection, as viewed in FIGS. 3 and 8. The suspension of controller 38about pin 33 and shaft 36, with the face 39 counterweighted at prong 48,allows face 39 to engage the material with a very light touch so thatface 39 does not force the cloth into slot 28. Face 39 rides the clothas the cloth is pulled in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 8. Point 46of the body 42 approaches to engage the material first. As jaw 24 swingsin a counter-clockwise direction, shaft 36 moves toward clamping plate27. Upper prong 48 riding upon pin 33 suspends the counterweight betweenpin 33 and shaft 36 and rotates arcuate body portion 42 in a clockwisedirection with thick material engaging surface 44 first moving towardclamping plate 27 to engage the material. If the material is not engagedthe controller 38 continues to rotate until the thin material engagingsurface 43 rotates far enough and the jaw 24 simultaneously swings farenough for surface 43 to engage and ride the material. The materialalways covers slot 28 and moves toward front edge 12. As soon as thematerial moves past slot 28, arcuate body portion 39 drops into slot 28thereby initiating the clamping of the cloth between clamping edge 26and clamping plate 27 by releasing jaw 24 to the action of gravity.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 9 and 10, wherein, a tentering clip isshown in a modified form to the tentering clip illustrated in FIGS. 1thru 8; and is adapted to function with the controller, so as to gripmaterial of varying thicknesses.

The tentering clip, in modified form, consists of a body having ahorizontally disposed base 11A terminating in a front ledge 12A providedwith an opening or slot 13A, a dependent central section extendingsidewise in opposite directions to provide a first upper ear 16A spacedapart and parallel to a first lower ear 17A and an opposite secnd upperear 18A spaced apart from a second lower car (not shown) but equivalentto car 19 shown in FIG. 6.

Two spaced apart arms 20A, 21A project upwardly from said base 11A toextend forwardly where arms 20A, 21A merge into a bracket 9 whichoverlies said horizontally disposed base 11A and said front ledge 12A.Pivotally mounted upona pintle 23A supported in bracket 9 is a jaw 24Aprovided with a projection 25A and a clamping edge 26A. Jaw 24A isloosely hinged to pintle 23A, so as to be normally free to moveautomatically into vertical relation under the action of gravity intoclamping position with a horizontally disposed clamping plate 27Afastened to ledge 12A. Clamping plate 27A is provided with a slot 28Avertically aligned with slot 13A.

A bracket 30A is fastened to or integrally connected to base 11A so asto constitute part of the body structure of the tentering clip. A pin33A is supported in bracket 30A and projects sidewise therefrom. A leg34A is fastened to or integrally connected to jaw 24A.

A controller, generally indicated at 38A, consists of a body member 42Ahaving a forked extension comprising an upper prong 48A and a lowerprong 47A. Said body member 42A is also provided with a bearing 41A anda material engaging face 39A provided with a thin material engaging area43A and a thick material engaging area 44A.

Upper prong 48A, lower prong 47A and body member 42A may be bifurcatedas shown in FIGS. 10 and 11.

Said bearing 41A geometrically divides said body member 42A into twosections. One section being the bifurcated extension prongs 47A, 48A andthe mass of material on one side of a vertical plane passing through theaxis of the bearing 41A. The other section constitutes the mass ofmaterial on the opposite side of said vertical plane and which isprovided with the material engaging face 39A and area 43A. It has beenfound desirable to balance section one against section two aroundbearing 41A. Therefore, section one should be equal in weight to sectiontwo. To that end, upper prong 48A is of an increased mass of material toform a counterweight to section two.

The contour of material engaging face 39A, bifurcated, is the same asstated for face 39, thereby, to accommodate material of varyingthicknesses.

Controller 38A is hinged to a shaft 36A through hearing 41A fastened inleg 34A. Controller 38A is slidably suspended to pin 33A by means ofbifurcated prongs 48A and 47A of the forked extension.

Controller 38A operates in the identical manner described for theoperation of controller 38.

Having shown and described preferred embodiments of the presentinvention by way of example, it should be realized that structuralchanges could be made and other examples given without departing fromeither the spirit or scope of this invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a tenter clip for gripping materials of varying thick nessescomprising a horizontally disposed base having a clamping surfaceprovided with a slot, a vertically upstanding bracket having a pair ofspaced apart arms which project sidewise from said bracket to overliesaid clamping surface, a pintle mounted in said pair of arms, a jawhaving a projection and a clamping edge, said jaw loosely hinged to saidpintle to be normally free to move automatically into clampingengagement with said clamping surface, that improvement in tenter clipjaws comprising a bracket attached to said base, a leg attached to andextending from said jaw toward said bracket, a shaft supported in saidleg, a pin supported in said bracket, a controller comprising a bodymember having a forked extension, consisting of an upper prong, and alower prong, said forked extension being counterweighted, and a clothengaging face, having a thin material engaging area and a thick materialengaging area, said body member also having a bearing, said bearingpivotally mounted to said shaft to hinge said controller to said jaw,said forked extension slidingly engaging said pin to slidably suspendsaid controller to said base, whereby movement of said jaw from open toclosed position pulls said body member toward said jaw, and pivots saidface from said thick material engaging area to the thin materialengaging arca as said face moves into material engaging position, saidcounterweighted forked extension offsetting the pressure of said faceupon the material.

2. A tender clip for gripping material of varying thicknesses as definedin claim 1 wherein said cloth engaging face is an arcuate surfaceconcentric to said shaft.

3. A tentering clip including: a body having a horizontally disposedbase terminating in a front ledge, an opening, a tail section, adependent central section extending sidewise in opposite directions toprovide a first upper ear, a first lower ear spaced apart and parallelto said first upper car, a second upper ear parallel and opposite tosaid first upper ear, a second lower ear spaced apart and parallel tosaid second upper ear, two spaced apart arms projecting upwardly fromsaid base and extended to overlie said horizontally disposed base andsaid front ledge, a clamping plate having a slot fastened to said frontledge, said slot aligned with said opening, a pintle supported in saidtwo spaced apart arms, a jaw provided with a projection and a clampingedge, said jaw pivotally mounted on said pintle so as to be normallyfree to move into clamping position with said clamping plate, abifurcated bracket having spaced apart fingers fastened to said body, apin supported in said spaced apart fingers, two spaced apart legsfastened to said jaw, a shaft supported in said two spaced apart legsand a controller consisting of a hub having a bearing supported uponsaid shaft and between said spaced apart legs, an arcuate body portionhaving a pivotal center in the center axis of said hub, a thin materialengaging surface on said arcuate body portion, a thick material engagingsurface on said arcuate body portion contiguous to said thin materialengaging surface, a forked extension having a lower prong extending fromsaid arcuate body portion, an upper prong extending from said arcuatebody portion and forming an elongated space with said lower prong, saidupper prong being tapered to provide a counterweight to said arcuatebody portion, said lower prong and said upper prong engaging said pinwith said pin located in said elongated space, whereby pivotal movementof said jaw toward closed position presents said thick material engagingsurface in register with said clamping plate and slot, the dropping ofsaid arcuate body portion into said slot simultaneously causing saidclamping edge to assume jaw closed and clamping position.

4. In a tentering clip including a body having an arm, a clamping plateprovided with a slot, and a jaw having a clamping edge pivotally mountedto said arm with said clamping edge engageable and disengageable withsaid clamping plate, that improvement comprising a bifurcated bracketattached to said body, a leg attached to and projecting from said jaw, ashaft supported in said leg, a pin supported in said bracket, acontroller comprising a hub, means pivotally mounting said hub to saidshaft, an arcuate body portion having a pivotal center in the axis ofsaid shaft, a thin material engaging surface on said arcuate bodyportion, an outwardly bulging arcuate thick material engaging surface onsaid body portion contiguous to said thin material engaging surface, aforked extension having a lower prong extending from said arcuate bodyportion, an upper prong extending from said arcuate body portion andforming an elongated space with said lower prong, said upper prong beingcounterweighted, said upper prong slidably engaging said pin, wherebypivotal movement of said jaw toward closed position pivots said bodyportion around said shaft to present said thick material engagingsurface in register with said slot and further pivotal movement of saidjaw toward closed position pivots said body portion around said shaft topresent said thin material engaging surface in register with said slot,the dropping of said body portion into said slot simultaneously placingsaid clamping edge in clamping relation with said clamping plate.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 710,799 10/1902 Peck. 1,143,9896/ 1915 Nolin. 1,3 39,509 5/ 1920 Hinnekens. 1,426,432 8/ 1922 Wiegand.1,781,138 11/1930 Stelling. 1,907,090 5/1933 Peterson. 1,909,806 5/ 1933Butterworth. 1,984,377 12/ 1934 Krug.

FOREIGN PATENTS 430,488 6/1935 Great Britain.

ROBERT R. MACKEY, Primary Examiner

